Porter, La Tech run over Hawaii for 27-6 victory

RUSTON, La.(AP) -- Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley wrote an open
letter to fans urging them to attend Wednesday night's game
against Hawaii to see something special.

Turns out that something special was tailback Daniel Porter.

The senior rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns, moved up the
charts on three career rushing lists and helped the Bulldogs to
a dominant 27-6 win Wednesday night. He also wiped away all
those questions surrounding a slow start.

"I got my mojo back tonight," Porter said, adding, "I'm not
going to say I was in a slump, but I wasn't getting my yards.

Porter jumped from 10th to eighth on the Louisiana Tech (2-2,
1-0 WAC) career rushing list and kept Hawaii (2-2, 0-1) on the
chase the entire game. The senior surpassed his season total of
145 yards rushing, as did the team with 352.

The Bulldogs entered the game ranked 103rd of 120 FBS teams with
97.3 yards rushing per game. Porter nearly reached that number
in the first half and continued to make big runs as Louisiana
Tech pulled away in the second half for its ninth win in its
last 10 home games.

"The problem with the run was (it was) the worst exhibition of
tackling in football," Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said. "We were
diving and not tackling the way we teach. We're not that kind of
football team."

The Louisiana Tech defense had no problem tackling and was
dominant as well, snapping Hawaii's 62-game streak with at least
one touchdown. The Bulldogs held the No. 7 offense to minus-7
yards rushing and 301 total yards, well below its average of
515.3.

Tech defenders kept the Warriors out of the end zone with a
goal-line stand late in the second quarter and sacked
quarterback Greg Alexander five times before knocking him from
the game late in the third, and finished with seven.

The Warriors played their third consecutive road game for the
first time since 1964, traveling to Seattle to play Washington
State and Las Vegas for UNLV before the 13-hour trip to Ruston.
It was just their fifth Western Athletic Conference loss in the
last 25 league games.

McMackin said there is "no whining in football" but acknowledged
his team appeared to be at a low ebb as it weathered home games
36 days apart.

"We didn't have any energy and didn't play our best game," he
said. "We're really looking forward to going home and playing
Fresno State in front of our crowd."

All the travel helps explain why it appeared Porter got stronger
as the game went on. The Warriors had allowed just 126.7 yards
rushing per game, but Porter passed that early in the second
half. He played sparingly in the fourth quarter, but picked up
runs of 19 and 14 yards on Bulldogs' final scoring drive, which
ended in a field goal.

Porter scored his first touchdown late in the first quarter from
3 yards out, helping the Bulldogs to a 10-6 halftime lead. The
Bulldogs rushed nine times on the 11-play drive for 71 yards.
Porter had 47 of his 95 first-half yards on the drive.

Adrian Logan tipped Alexander's first pass of the second half at
the line of scrimmage and fellow defensive lineman Kwame Jordan
intercepted the pass. The Bulldogs moved down to the 7 and
Porter scored from a yard out after three consecutive carries to
make it 17-6.

Myke Compton's 6-yard score with 2:22 remaining in the third
quarter put the Bulldogs up 24-6 and the game out of reach after
Alexander injured his left knee on a hard hit by Adrien Cole.

Porter finished shy of his career high of 189 yards, set last
season against Fresno State. It was still a great day for the
senior. Along with moving up on the career rushing list (he now
has 2,514 yards), he moved into ninth on the career carries list
(468) and needs one more rushing touchdown (21) to enter the Top
10 in that category.

Porter bought his offensive line dinner last week and might
think about doing it again.

"I just ordered pizza and had them over to my house," Porter
said. "Just wanted to let them know they did a great job last
year, and thought it was right to do. I told them I'd do
whatever it took to (be successful) again this year."